Process of manufacturing cellulose.



A. DEISS. PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GELLULOSE. APPLIOATION rILnn MAY 19, 1909.

967,001. I Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

,AUGUSTE nurse, or ST.-BARNABE, MAnsEInn-E, FRANCE.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING CELLULOSE.

Application. filed May 19,

Specification of Letters Patent;

1909. Serial No. 491054;

' To alt whom it may concern:

facturing Cellulose,

The present invention relatw to a process Be it known that I; AneUsTE Dials s, chemist, a citizen of the Republic of France,- residing at 2 Alle Compassion, St.-Barnab, Marseille, France, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes of Manufor the manufacture of Cellulose whichpflers great economy over processes hitherto in use, in that, besides. the principal product cellulosetwo by-products, each having market value, are obtained. The first of these by-products consists of oxalates, from which oxalic acid can be extracted by the usual industrial processes, while the second consists in the entire and economical recovery'of the alkaline liquors which are used again for treating new raw material.

The raw materialused for the present process is the same as has hitherto been used 1n the manufacture of cellulose, that is to say, hemp, flax, the straw of corn, rice, rye, barley, maize, oats, cotton, as well as jutes, bohmeria or grass-cloth plant, white woods generally, and the a ave, and allother plants or waste parts 0 plants the cellulose yield of which can be considered sufficiently remunerative; With reference to the quality of the cellulose obtained 'by the present process, it should be stated that it can be put to the same industrial uses as the celluloseknown underthe name of wood cellulose, while it is obtained at a considerably lower netcost. One of the characteristics of this rocess lies in the fact that theretting of t e raw materials from which the cellulose is to be extracted, is carried out ,under the action of ferments, by which means the advantage is gained that the rocess can be carried through with a rapldity hitherto unknownin this kind of operation.

Another characteristic of the process lies in that it presents the advantage of enabling the cooking operation to be effected energetically with the same units of heat, while worked until no at the same time it enables the recovery of one of the two by-products mentioned below to be effected, which 'bY -PIOdHCt had been lost in'all processes such as have'been The method of operation is the followin The material to be treated is cut u to t e required degree of division and is t on subjected to the action of acidulated water in the action of the defibrating agentsf after about three hours of this treatment the acid t is neutralized .by a suitable alkali three hours more, till the material is completely neutral. The liquid, which can be the'solid matter in the vat.

In contradistmction from processes hitherto used," whlch moreover. require conslderof'the present invention consists in effecting the retting by means of a'ferment which will not only act to produce the rettin action, but at the sametnne to produce a gisinfect factive action caused b other ferments.

esparto grass developed in strong saltwater may be used, which has the property of bein an% at the same time preserve it from putrebeen previously treated. Ordinary ferments will perish 'in'strong salt water and give a putrefactiveaction, and 'furthermoreare 'very' diflicult to keep'pure;

The preferred method of addin the ferment isby sprinkling the materia withit.

any other suitable food.

byapplying the required" degree of heat.

collected .by. decantation and kept'for "retmaining in the vat is washed withjwarmwa-f the vat and subjected to the action of strong driven in any suitable manner. A stirring Patented 5113. 9, 1910.-

and t e treatment is continued -for about neglected is then drawn oif, leaving'onlyable time, the process forming the subject b 70 able to disintegrate the raw material, a

8.0 faction, and 1snot'injured by remnants of Y the solution with which-the material has The ferment is' fed by adding bran-waten'or' order to set free the chloro hyll gums, al- I 'bumen and other substances ikely to hinder ing action'as distinguished from the putre i 7 5 As a ferment, yeast erived from African It is obviousthat fermentation is kept up- Once the pores of the material are opened or the substance is well retted, the liquorf is r ting new raw material, the solid matter re; 1

ter, the li uor ibeinglthen poured olf-to'bef j used as a erment in subsequent operations? 4 The raw material having been retted and" washed in this way is then withdrawn from lyes and superheated steam in a closed any device 6 is mounted within the shell into which superheated steam is introduced from convenient source through the pipe 9. One or more supply apertures h h and dis-- charge apertures z i are provided on the shell in the usual manner, and a cock j allows the liquid portions to be drawn ofi'. Instead of having a rotatable shell and a fixed stirring device, the latter could be movable and the shell fixed or, if desired, both members could be arranged to revolve in opposite directions, in general it is suflicient to state that any apparatus fulfilling the requirements of a closed vessel, such as a digester, can be used forthis stage of the process.

place and soluble saline combinations are.

formed with the vegetable acids, such as exalic or pe ic acid or in short any other acid containe or developed in-the raw material; these substances being all retained in the interior of the closed vessel and are used at a temperature below the combustion temperature, so that they are notlost' by cremation in the kiln, as has been hitherto the case.

When the treatment is finished, the admission of steam is cut ofl", the movement of the apparatus is stopped and the liquids contained in the apparatus are drawn off through thecock 7'. The material which has undergone treatment is then taken out and subjected to-the, usual operations of crushin'g, tearing, washing and bleaching before referred to undergo a further treatment in order to extract from them the already menplacing it uponthemarket, while the liquids tioned by-products, namely the vegetable acids derived from the raw material employed, from which the commercial acids are ultimately obtained. These liquids are poured into a reservoir and are treated with to deliver them to the industry, in which they are treated in the usual way in order 'to be transformed into the commercial acids.

Strong lyes offer the advantage that by their use the operation is shortened without this fact causing any loss, considering that they are wholly and economically recuperated while at the same time causing economy of fuel and in the consumption of lime over current methods of manufacture.

I claim:

-1. The process of manufacturing cellulose which consists in sowing the previously prepared material with a ferment derived from esparto grass, allowing the fermentation to take place, washing the material, pouring off the ferment for further use, cooking and defibrating the material, collecting the lyes resulting from the cooking process, andseparating the cellulose, substantially as described.

2. The process of manufacturing cellulose which consists in subjecting the material to the action of acidulated water, neutralizing the acidity, drawing off the liquid, sowing the material with a ferment derived from esparto grass, heating the material to aid the fermentation, washin the material,

drawing ofl" the liquid, subJecting the material in a closed vessel to the action of a strong lye and superheated steam, and finally separating the cellulose, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 11th day of May 1909, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUSTE DEISS.

Witnesses:

R. H. BRANDON, D. H. BRANDorv. 

